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Chris Baxter Passes 2-Mar-2010 At 10:45:12 AM gtempest

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I was 15 when I started climbing and Chris Baxter was one of my heroes. In 1982 we travelled to England together as guests of the BMC (British Mountaineering Council) for the Buxton Conference. We stayed in a small hotel with the likes of Don Whillans, Chris Bonnington and Alan Rouse. Chris was in his element. He was to deliver one of the keynote talks (using mainly my photographs) on the subject of Australian climbing. At the opening of his talk he introduced himself to his attentive audience with the comment that he was 'especially well-known among Australian climbers and enjoyed a certain notoriety'. The very first image that then flashed up on the screen was of the base of Undertaker and the famous chiseled words 'Baxter is a Shit'. The entire audience broke up laughing and Chris was grinning from ear to ear. No doubt Chris both loved and hated that piece of graffiti. And while it's also true that his skin was as thick as it was prickly, Chris could be amazingly gentle and sensitive. Over the years we climbed a lot together. We laughed a lot and we also argued a lot. He was both was my mentor and my tormentor. I'll miss him.